Grass-catcher.



Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

LVVEN TOR.

ATTORNEYS.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH CO. WASHINGTON, D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLIPI-I E. MEYER, 0F WEBSTER GROVES, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO ZITTLOSEN MANU- FACTURING COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

GRASS-GATGI-IER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 13, 1911.

Patented Sept. 5, 1911.

Serial No. 614,173.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ADoLPH E. MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Webster Groves, in the county of St. Louis, State of Missouri, have invented a new and useful Grass-Catcher, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to receptacles popularly known as grass catchers; and, among others, its objects are (a) to afford a receptacle of the character described whose frames, while freely collapsible rearwardly, are positively insured from falling forward and contacting with the wheels and blades of the mower, to the damage of the latter as well as the catcher, and (b) to afford a novel, useful, effective and inexpensive means whereby the catcher may be readily adapted for use upon mowers of all usual widths. These desiderata, and others which will become apparent hereinafter and from a consideration of the appended claims, are attained through the peculiar features of construction to be described in detail and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which like numerals denote like parts throughout, Figure 1 being a perspective of my completed receptacle; Fig. 2 a detail view, on slightly enlarged scale, of the means for preventing the frames from falling forward; and Fig. 3 depicting, in enlarged detail, the devices used in attaching and adjusting the catcher to a mower.

In this device there is provided an upper and an intermediate frame, the latter spacing apart and connecting, by means of its front-stays 1, said upper frame and the metal floor 2 of the receptacle. Said upper frame consists simply of a length of suitable material, preferably wire, which is bent to form a rear bar 3 and side-rods 4t at right angles thereto. Disposed in rear bar 3 is an eyelet 5 serving to look into definite position supporting member 6; at the forward ends of side-rods 4 are horizontally disposed eyelets 7 while the free ends of front-stays l of said intermediate frame are substantially horizontally disposed and provided with vertically arranged eyelets 8. From the said disposition of eyelets 7 and 8, it is apparent from a consideration of Fig. 2 that, while there is ample accommodation for forward bend 7 of eyelets 7 in the angle 8 of eyelets 8, forward collapse of the frame is rendered physically impossible.

In practice, I provide as a special feature of this grass catcher a plurality of elongated slots 9 in the floor 2 of the receptacle proper, disposing the same parallel and ad jacent to rod 1 forming the continuation of front-stays 1. Over rod 1 the metal of said floor is coiled to form a socket or holding device 10 within which said rod may freely rotate in the direction of its length, and to cooperate with said slots for the adjustment of this catcher to mowers of varying widths I provide peculiarly shaped hooks 11. The body portion 12 ofeach of said hooks is given an elongated slot 13 for the entrance therethrough of bolts used upon all mowers for adjustably securing the hangers of the ground-roller, and from said portion of said hooks is prolonged a foot 14 terminating in upstruck and obliquely inclined arm 15 which extends considerably above said body portion of said hook. Thus a pocket 16 is provided, and upon the insertion of arms 15 of hooks 11 into slots 9, the front margin 17 of the floor of the catcher is received within said pocket and firmly supported at either side upon foot 14 of the hooks.

Aside from the advantage derived in preventing the forward collapse of the frames and their canvas covering upon the wheels or blades of a mower through the peculiar formation and interlockage of eyelets 7 and 8, as set forth and claimed in my co-pending application for Letters-Patent filed Oct. 13, 1910, Serial No. 586,895, a further nnportant advantage is apparent in the means presented for attaching this type of receptacle to a lawn mower. In other late types of catchers such means most often take the form of laterally adjustable members depending or projecting outwardly as continuations of the material of the frame, but these, while satisfactory as long as left precisely in that position where they will easily and exactly enbe easily and quickly attached to or detached from the mower, as intended. In eliminating all such projecting members, and devising in lieu thereof a plurality of elongated slots 8 surrounded by the comparatively heavy metal of the floor, whose integrity is additionally preserved through their disposition parallel and adjacent to strengthened edge or margin '17 reinforced by .the passage therethrough of bar 1, and effecting a minute adjustment of the catcher relative to the ground-roller of the mower by the ability to raise, lower, incline, or move backward or forward hooks 11 through the presencetherein of slot 13, a more sightly, less expensive and very durable article is afforded.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent, is

1. A receptacle of the type described comprising an upper and an intermediate frame, a floor or bottom, and closures between said upper frame and floor, said intermediate frame having a horizontally disposed member prolonged into opposed vertical stays, and said upper frame embracing a rear bar and side rods prolonged substantially at right angles therefrom, eyelets arranged in the free extremities of and at an acute angle to said stays, the free extremities of said rods brought beneath said eyelets and thence hingedly loopedtherethrough, substantially as and for the purposes described.

. 2. A receptacle of the type described com prising an upper. and an intermediate frame, a floor or bottom, and closures between said upper frame and floor, said intermediate frame having a horizontally disposed mem ber prolonged into opposed vertical stays, said member engaging the front margin of said'fioor, and said upper frame embracing a rear bar and side rods prolonged substantially at right angles therefrom, eyelets arranged in the free extremities of and at an acute angle to said stays, the free extremities of said rods brought beneath said eyelets and thence hingedly looped there through, substantially as and for the purposes deseribed, 1

8. A receptacle of the type described comprising an upper and an intermediate frame, an apertured floor or bottom, closures between said upper frame and floor, and separate devices adapted to be adjustably attached to a lawn mower, said intermediate frame havinga horizontally disposed member prolonged into opposed vertical stays, and said upper frame embracing a rear bar and side rods prolonged substantially at right angles therefrom, eyelets arranged in the free extremities of and at an acute angle to said stays, the free extremities of said rods brought beneath said eyelets and thence hingedly looped therethrough, and means whereby said receptacle may be used upon mowers of different widths, substantially as and for the purposes described.

4. A receptacle of the type described comprising an upper and an intermediate frame, an apertured floor or bottom, closures between said upper frame and floor, and separate devices adapted to be adjustably attached to a lawn mower, said intermediate frame having a horizontally disposed member prolonged into opposed vertical stays, said member engaging the front margin of said floor, and said upper frame embracing a rear bar and side rods prolonged substantially at right angles therefrom, eyelets arranged in the free extremities of and at an acute angle to said stays, the free extremities of said rods brought beneath said eyelets and thence hingedly looped therethrough, and means whereby said receptacle may be used upon mowers of different widths, substantially as and for the purposes described.

ADOLPI-I E. MEYER.

Witnesses: JAMES E. GARSTANG, PAUL GRossE.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. G. 

